In the process of manufacture of a module, like a liquid crystal panel, there is employed a tape adhering apparatus that adheres a tape formed from an anisotropic conductive film called an ACF (Anisotropic Conductive Film) (hereinafter referred to as an “ACF tape”) to a plurality of electrodes arranged in a row on an upper surface of the substrate. The ACF tape is supplied in the form of a tape member that has a protective tape called a separator set integrally on one side of the tape.
A tape adhering apparatus has a substrate holding unit for holding a substrate; a transfer base that is transferable along a horizontal direction; a press tool provided so as to be vertically movable with respect to the transfer base; tape conveyor means that is disposed on the transfer base and that conveys a tape member forwards and backwards along a direction parallel to the direction of movement of the transfer base within a region immediately below the press tool; tape cutting means for cutting an ACF tape from the tape member conveyed by the tape conveyor means, to thus form a cut piece of the ACF tape on a separator; and transfer rollers that are disposed independently of the transfer base so as to be movable in the horizontal direction and that are moved toward the cut piece of the ACF tape adhered to the target adhering area on the substrate, thereby guiding the transfer base in such a direction as to peel the separator off from the cut piece of the ACF tape (see; for instance, Patent Document 1).
When the cut piece of the ACF tape is adhered to the substrate by such a tape adhering apparatus, processing pertaining to a train of operations, such as those mentioned below, is iterated. The operations include (1) a process for positioning the transfer base in such a way that one end of the press tool comes to a position immediately above one end of the target adhering area including electrodes on the substrate; (2) a process for conveying the tape member in such a way that a front end of the ACF tape is situated in an area below the press tool and that the cut portion of the ACF tape comes to a position immediately above the one end of the target adhering area; (3) a process for cutting the ACF tape by the tape cutting means advanced to the cut portion of the ACF tape located immediately below the press tool, thereby forming a cut piece of the ACF tape on the separator; (4) a process for lowering the press tool and pressing the cut piece of the ACF tape against the target adhering area on the substrate, thereby adhering the cut piece of the ACF tape to the target adhering area; (5) a process for moving the transfer rollers toward the cut piece of the ACE tape adhered to the target adhering area on the substrate, to thus peel the separator off from the cut piece of the ACF tape, and returning the transfer rollers to their original positions; and (6) a process for moving the transfer base in such a way that the press tool comes to a position above the target adhering area on the substrate where the cut piece of the ACF tape is to be adhered.